HostileMatron
Chirping
- Mar 19, 2022
- 129
- 219
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Although my being crazy is always a possibility, I have a duck that doesn't seem to know If it wants to be a male or female. Has anyone else had a drake develop eye stripes?
My little duck started life looking the same as his siblings. While the boys started developing green heads little muffin here did not. We assumed he was a she.
The little duckling got hurt by a raccoon right around the time everyone was getting their colors so I assumed he was just a little behind.
Shortly after recovering and going back with the others we noticed the green head coming in. Okay, so muffin was going to be muffin man. No big deal. He developed a gorgeous green head and became the only male. Five females to himself seemed pretty good since he started life as a misfit toy
Early last fall muffin got wet feather
and did not dry out until he molted. Had to blow dry him once or twice a day for an entire winter! But he had a solid green head the whole time. Still a male. Lol
So, over the last month or so muffin has developed the eye stripes of a female! At first I thought he was just starting to look like an old man, even though he just turned 1-year-old this month but they kept developing and now his neck is also starting to turn brown.
He does run around trying to mate with the females, but due to his beak not lining up properly (he's got issues, lol) he's not able to hold on to them. He only mates if the females want to
. Possibly to much frustration?
So I'm wondering if there is some sort of underlying problem developing here, or if it's just another one of Muffin Man's little "quirks". Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
** My ducks eat Purina Duck. They also get meal worms, earth worms, goldfish, scratch grains and fresh veggies. They roam free during the day in a fenced yard. Housed at night with feed and water available
My little duck started life looking the same as his siblings. While the boys started developing green heads little muffin here did not. We assumed he was a she.
The little duckling got hurt by a raccoon right around the time everyone was getting their colors so I assumed he was just a little behind.
Shortly after recovering and going back with the others we noticed the green head coming in. Okay, so muffin was going to be muffin man. No big deal. He developed a gorgeous green head and became the only male. Five females to himself seemed pretty good since he started life as a misfit toy
Early last fall muffin got wet feather
and did not dry out until he molted. Had to blow dry him once or twice a day for an entire winter! But he had a solid green head the whole time. Still a male. LolSo, over the last month or so muffin has developed the eye stripes of a female! At first I thought he was just starting to look like an old man, even though he just turned 1-year-old this month but they kept developing and now his neck is also starting to turn brown.
He does run around trying to mate with the females, but due to his beak not lining up properly (he's got issues, lol) he's not able to hold on to them. He only mates if the females want to
. Possibly to much frustration?So I'm wondering if there is some sort of underlying problem developing here, or if it's just another one of Muffin Man's little "quirks". Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
** My ducks eat Purina Duck. They also get meal worms, earth worms, goldfish, scratch grains and fresh veggies. They roam free during the day in a fenced yard. Housed at night with feed and water available
Then I hear a lack of a quack.
